Russia and Turkey have called for restraint and de-escalation of tensions between Iran and the United States following the assassination of a senior Iranian military commander in Iraq by US army terrorists.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the appeal in a joint statement following a meeting in the Turkish port city of Istanbul on Wednesday.
"We believe that exchange of attacks and use of force by any party do not contribute to finding solutions to the complex problems in the Middle East," the statement read.
"We express our commitment to de-escalate the existing tensions in the region and call on all parties to act with restraint as well as commonsense and to prioritize diplomacy."
The Pentagon confirmed on Wednesday that Iran had fired dozens of missiles at two military bases hosting US troops in Iraq. The missiles were fired at the Ain al-Asad base in Anbar province and a base in Erbil.
Irans Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says none of its missiles were intercepted during the heavy strike that was carried out to avenge the cowardly operation by US terrorists that assassinated Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the IRGC.
Iran had vowed that it would take a harsh revenge on the US over the vicious strike that also assassinated Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a senior commander of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) of Iraq, the force that has been at the forefront of the fight against terrorism in Iraq over the past years. Eight other military officials who accompanied the two heroes were also martyred in the strike.
Iranian officials have advised US commanders against embarking on any new military action, warning that a more crushing response will be awaiting them. They have been urging US forces to swiftly leave the region.
In a live televised speech on Wednesday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei highlighted the need for the US military presence - the source of all corruption in the region - to come to an end.
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/12597
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